L'Antimatière information

LesNez tell us that "Isabelle has been working on this little project for about ten years. It is unmarketable by conventional standards. But as we want to work primarily with samples and not sell in shops we have decided to give it a go: the quantities of concentré we had to order where acceptable for a little adventure."Thou shall not cheat the customer with a misleading headnote" is the reason for the initial shock which goes from alcohol to nothing and starts again after about 30 minutes."

Reviews of L'Antimatière

Well this is a peculiar scent indeed. Since the very opening it’s all about an odd chemical “thing” I can’t identify, a sort of glueish-waxy smell with grey musky hints blended with a sort of dark, dry, austere floral note, at the same time earthy and much abstract, “emptied” of any richness. I miss the amber note, while I get more some salty-dusty ambroxan (or other ambroxide-based components), with an overall sort of heaviness halfway concrete and mineral elements. On the base, something like Iso E or an equivalent dry pencil-sharpener feel. Words fail to describe this scent, as it’s basically something halfway wet soil and a medical ointment. Plus, an added “weirdness” value is the actual behaviour on skin, as you smell it more clearly in the sillage than on skin. Honestly, as much intriguing it may look on an intellectual level, it is so “I-don’t-get-it” that I can’t come up with a conclusion about L’antimatière. It manages to smell super clean and super safe, yet also cloying and almost threatening, carrying a subtle yet gloomy sort of medical feel. Worthy a try, as it’s a nice and creative job (the closest reference I can think of is Odeur 71), but I honestly can’t imagine who, when and why should wear this.

This is just really weird, yet not unlikeable. If CdG had a fragrance called "Baby Doll's Head," it would probably smell a lot like this. "Baby doll's head" is the only real-world scent I can relate to L'Antimatière, both the hair and the plastic of the doll's head. It is at once musty and clean; plastic yet somehow mineral-metallic; cool and warm. It is less the skin scent of a human, more the skin scent of a humanoid robot. And yes, once it gets going, it lasts and lasts, projecting moderately or better, seemingly in waves. There is something in this that reminds me a lot of an element in Miller Harris’s L'Air de Rien. It is the same element that up close, smells overly sharp, but is much softer and more likeable from a distance. I cannot say I love or hate this, but am definitely intrigued.

Yes, no doubts about, this fragrance is genius although it doesn't project a so tenacious longevity on my skin. L'Antimatiere is one of the weirdest fragrances ever tested by me and (i absolutely agree with the Foetidus's definition) an abstract concoction tossing at once out metallic/soapy, fresh/warm, modern/vintage, bright/mysterious nuances. It reminds me those weird clean (and nowhere to be discerned) aromas you can detect around inside some hotel rooms, a smell of toilette, detergents, soaps, powder, artisanal soap tablets, "fragrant towels and bedclothes" and woody fornitures. The beginning is soon compelling with its boozy/alcoholic blast a bit empty but immediately seasoned, spicy and ambery (i start by soon to catch the ambergris), evolving in a while (a really short while, as for a sleight of hand) towards a more complex, well rounded, soapy/musky and intimate aroma, something perfuming about, yes, cleaned skin, floral ambiental deodorants, laundry, wall paper, naphthalene, modern fornitures, soapy/neutral bath foams and room cleaner. The "intimate soapy effect" is produced by the interaction between musk and secret animalic elements, may be honey, may be wax, may be something just God knows about and the ambergris is finally present with its dry but "intimate" vibe so carnal and warm. This aroma is really unusual cause (this is absolutely true) it seems to odour but not to be properly perfumed as an ordinary fragrance, it reminds me more than vaguely the aroma produced, after the contact with the arm-pit skin, by the neutral odour-neutralising foams, this is more a skin aroma than a perfume. Fragrances a bit jumping to mind for some of their aspects? Well, a bit Iperborea Villoresi, a touch of Phul-Nana Grossmith, Cuir the Russie by Piver, Comme des Garcons 2Man, Equipage Hermes, Amouage Gold Man and (don get me wrong) also some Petroleum's nuances. An highly experimental but outstanding fragrance introducing in the universe of perfumery an almost unique "unmatereal" olfactory concept of unscented fragrance becoming a whole one with our chemistry.

The first 25 minutes I get a waxy and kind of unspecified sweet pleasant smell. This phase starts the minute I apply the perfume, and even though the sillage is minimal the scent is VERY detectable when I sniff my wrist.

Then the perfume turns on me. The sillage increases 'til it's like a lions roar, even when I've applied just a drop on one of my wrists it's so loud I feel sick. The waxy sweetness turns into a stale sweetness, like unwashed hair of an old man. It's a real scrubber, unfortunately the scent is impossible to wash off. It lasts and lasts and lasts, the only time I've managed to NOT scrub it off after two hours, I could easily smell it for two days, despite 2 showers and several handwashes.

This clearly develops differently on different people. I wanted to like this, and that's why I try it on from time to time, hoping that I might have been wrong the last time I wore it.

My thumbs down has nothing to do with whether this is a high quality perfume or not - I'm to unexperienced to determine that. The red thumb is because this smells absolutely, horrifyingly disgusting on me.

I really wanted to like this, and I agree you get nothing for the first half hou,r but after that, still all I smelled were faint florals and a plastic-like note. I guess it didn't come out on me, too bad because I loved the idea.

An absolute GENIUS of a fragrance ! ~ Luv it , luv it , LUV IT !!!
This has surely got to be THE master of "Skin-Scents" !? If I were able to chose how I'd want my own skin to smell naturally, this would be it !
It's therefore my immediate go-to fragrance whenever I'm not particularly in the mood to be too overtly scented (or just can't make up my mind ;o) and just want to have "naturally" good smelling skin. As it's not exactly a very "perfume" perfume type scent. And more bound to elicit a compliment such as : "you smell good" as apposed to : "the fragrance you wearing smells good".

I think it's one of the best "skin-musk" scent on the market ! And also one of the best pure plain unadorned representations of the scent of natural true authentic ambergris. (At least it certainly smells very closely redolent of my genuine whale "hair-ball" ambergris tincture.)
Though barely perceptible at times, it's nevertheless still incredibly tenacious, lasting easily a good 12hrs or more on my skin. Though very light at first, it does unusually increase in potency as it progresses, becoming much stronger towards the heart and drydown of the scent. It never however becomes loud or heavy, preferring to stay close to the skin throughout.
An accomplished minimalist fragrance, though certainly not for everyone.
It's unusual character and definitive musky "animalic" nature bound to make it one of those dividing "luv-it" or "hate-it" type scents. You'll either "get-it" and enjoy it's innovative concept, or just won't nor even understand those who might. It's lack of immediate scent is due mostly to the missing usual top-notes. The scent only beginning to "bloom" on the skin about 30 to 45 min after first being spray. ~ It's a brave perfumer who composes & releases a fragrance lacking in all top-notes. (Seeing as these are usually what most base their immediate impressions of a scent upon). ...
I especially suggest therefore that sampling first would be most wise. This is not a scent to risk a "blind buy" on, that's for sure ! ...

In the light of all these reasons, I think the quirky naming of L'Antimatière's (i.e. Antimatter) is particularly witty and actually most fitting. And also especially as it will serve too as an interesting particularity. As L'antimatière is composed of mostly a cocktail of just various musks and little else. It therefore will work perfectly as a sort of musk anosmia detector. ~ So if you happen to be one of those who thinks L'antimatière smells like just a quick burst of alcohol followed by no scent at all. Unable to smell pretty much anything throughout the entire life of the scent. (Although do remember to wait that "30/45min buffer" I mentioned earlier, before coming to an erroneous conclusion). Then it's quite probable that you're one of the approx' ±3% unfortunate musk anosmics.
~ How cool is that !?